State: Child killer in Fort Myers case also an abuser

Apr. 3, 2013

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Derric Johnson

The state attorney’s office says there was another victim in the January child abuse case that ended with the death of a 2-year-old and the arrest of her mother’s boyfriend.

Derric Johnson, 31, was arrested Jan. 31 after police say he beat 2-year-old Brianna Addison to death. He was originally handed charges of aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter of a child.

The state attorney’s office has since tacked on another charge — third-degree felony child abuse against Brianna’s 4-year-old sister, Macayla Hall, according to documents released Tuesday. The state attorney’s office claims Macayla could have suffered physical or mental injury because she was in the home while Johnson caused her sister’s death. Macayla was forced to share a bed with Brianna while the 2-year-old died of her injuries. Johnson also refused to provide Macayla with adequate medical care for her asthma attack, causing her to be hospitalized for several days following her sister’s death.

Macayla and her year-old brother, Jadarious Roberts, remain in the care of the Department of Children and Families, according to spokeswoman Terri Durdaller. The DCF case investigating Brianna’s death is still open.

In January, Macayla gave police an account of her sister’s beating. She told police Johnson gave Brianna a “whooping” in the living room because she was bad, according to a report from the Lee County Clerk of Court. Brianna cried while Johnson hit her with a belt and a shoe, Macayla said.

A Fort Myers police officer reported Macayla appeared traumatized.

Macyla “appeared afraid, was shaking and unable to control her breathing,” the report states. “She kept looking up at Derric Johnson with what Lt. Prince described as ‘big eyes.’”

The report also states Derric Johnson and the girls’ mother, Shawna Hall, appeared unusually calm and were not crying.

An autopsy report released Tuesday lists Brianna’s cause of death as blunt trauma to the head that led to a brain bleed. Brianna suffered nearly 20 bruises and scrapes to her head, face and neck, according to the report. Another roughly 30 wounds covered the 2-year-old’s torso, arms and legs.

Police interviewed Brianna’s mother twice — through each session she maintained she knew nothing about what killed her daughter. Hall told police Johnson never hit her and she never saw him lose his temper with her children.

Police told her Macayla witnessed the fatal beating.

“He would never hurt one of my kids on purpose, never,” Hall said, in tears, during the interview. “Never on purpose.”

Johnson remains in Lee County Jail without bail, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office website. He admitted to certain aspects of the offense, according to a Fort Myers Police Department document.